The NZSDA (Incorporated) is an Association of employer craftspeople bound together by a Code of Practice to uphold high standards of craftsmanship and business ethics. The Association liaises with local bodies on by-laws affecting signage, maintains apprenticeship training standards and encourages the sharing and expanding of knowledge within the sign-making industry. Companies using the services of any of the members of the New Zealand Sign and Display Association may be assured that they are dealing with ‘Sign Craftspeople’ who are subject to redress through the Association in the event of any complaint.
The flagship event for the New Zealand Sign and Display Association is the annual New Zealand Sign and Display Awards. This prestigious national competition, which recognises outstanding design and craftsmanship across a broad range of sign-making methods and technologies, receives hundreds of entries each year from all over New Zealand.
To acknowledge excellence is the primary purpose of the New Zealand Sign and Display Awards. This maxim not only constitutes part of the awards programme logo but also provides the standard by which all entries are judged. This ensures that the overall standard of entries is high and that competition for the gold, silver or bronze medals is fierce.
Sponsored by many of New Zealand’s leading signs and graphics suppliers, the annual awards dinner and prize giving is held in different cities throughout New Zealand, reinforcing the event’s national status.
Members are kept up to date on government legislation issues such as the Employment Relations Act, The Health and Safety in Employment Act, the Privacy Act, the Resource Management Act, the Fair Trading Act, the Commerce Act, and the Consumer Guarantees Act, among others. Updates and court findings affecting the application of these various laws are of paramount importance.
The Association, with the assistance of its local members, keeps a particularly close watch on Local Body Legislation and local by-laws in town or district planning as rules concerning sign usage increase. A town planning consultant is employed by the Association to represent the industry at legislative hearings, challenging ill-considered rules.